Those of you who know me on here and/or in person will know I absolutely loathe fast running. I can mosey along for hours in snail mode, but the moment I’m asked to up the pace I grizzle. 😠
So I had to find a way to make doing intervals “fun”. I’ve used JogRunSprint a fair amount and it’s a great app, except I think I had the reps set at an unsustainable (for me) setting. I was doing 4 sets of 3 intervals with a minute walking in between. I found myself hating every moment after the first rep! Not good. 🙃
Something had to change so I had a fiddle. Maybe this is a cop out, but I changed it to 4 x 2 intervals with 2 minutes of walking in between sets. So quite a lot less than I was doing before, but I need to enjoy what I’m doing or I won’t. Simples.
This morning was the morning. Oh the faffage and delaying tactics were out in force! I’d lost my keys last night and spent ages finding them (outside on the rabbit run - obviously 🙄), I couldn’t decide what to wear, where to go ...... but stuff it, I went to my favourite common with 🐕 and went for it. 🏃♀️
I did a 15 minute warmup (5 fast walking, 10 slow running), then JRS, making sure to really go really slow, then quicker then fast, and finished with 15 more minutes of slow jogging. 🏃♀️👍
It worked! I enjoyed it! 👏👏👏 Hard to know how well I did so I’ll need to change my splits (somehow) on Garmin as it obviously averages everything out, including the walk breaks - any tips how to do that anyone? 🤔
But I’m pleased, and I WILL be doing it again. Maybe even 5 reps eventually, but let’s keep it fun for the moment. 😀
Happy running everyone. 😀
Written by
cheekychipmunks
Graduate10
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We must talk more about this next time we meet. Having just finished my C25K I am not sure what to do to consolidate my running. I get joint pain so just going further or running for longer may do more damage than good. JRS sounds interesting but running and sprinting are a little out of my league at the moment.
The Garmin pace trace, especially if viewed on a decent screen and "popped out", will show you the extent to which you differentiated jog from run from sprint, your max sprint speed, and whether your sprint speed held up through the exercise. I don't know of any way to get it to work out anything other than km splits though.
Yep, that’s right, noting it’s best presentation is on a computer rather than a phone. My watch is a Forerunner 35, so nothing special, but gives me more than I need to be happy 😃
I think on the 235 you can manually lap it by pressing the back/lap button, then have a look at each 'lap' individually on the app? So after each jog, run or sprint session press the lap button and it should separate it out. It will still combine them overall too though Hopefully that makes sense!
Yep. I had a play around with my Garmin yesterday evening and found the pace graph - which I can expand on my phone! I need to download Garmin Connect onto the iMac or at least my iPad so I can read it properly, like you said UTS. 😀
Yep, but if you manually lap it at a certain time (just press the button after every however many seconds at each pace), then afterwards in the app it breaks it down, and shows you the time, distance and pace of each 'lap' that you have created - not dependant on distance at all!
Excellent work cheeky!! I approached JRS differently. I set it for what I thought I could manage, but really only followed instructions for as long as I felt comfortable. I went for the long warm up too. After that I jogged the walking bits, did slow jog, ordinary run and then over 5k pace in the intervals (all by feel) and when it got to the point that I felt I was pushing myself too hard, I just took out the earphones and totally ignored further instructions. I completed the run to a Garmin measured 3.5k or up to 5k at a comfortable pace. My only evidence of the change of pace was the three different colours on the Garmin cadence display. I have no idea how to adjust the splits; somebody will have no doubt. 👏👏👏👏
Glad it’s not just me BC! Your method sounds sensible and it certainly worked for you judging by your speedy runs! Looks like UpTheStanley has the answer ...... I need to get me tech head on (wait, I don’t have one 😩).
Well done Cheeky! You actually enjoyed JRS - pick me up off the floor 😂 I’ve still only done it 3 times in total (although have thrown in some Fartlek from time to time!) but I really don’t enjoy it 😫
Thought that make you chuckle Sandie! You know me well enough by now to know that snails don’t have a fast setting! But yes it was fun and it felt like I was really going fast during the sprints! 🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️
Brilliant, well done! Glad I kept you cheery - that's my side of the bargain achieved 🤣🤣🤣. As I'm skipping my run today just to be safe, I'm going to have to face strength instead 🤬. I'm also going to look for something different that I might enjoy, but all the same I'd appreciate some cheery vibes through the ether just in case 😍
Hey Linda, you know I’ll be cheery for you! Imagine me darting off on my 10 second sprints and my dog being so surprised she began jumping around my feet, almost making me face plant! That would have made a great YouTube video! 😅 She really isn’t used to me sprinting! 😅😅😅
Enjoy your strength training. It’ll be worth it when you smash your HM! 👊🏃♀️👍
I am so with you.... I am asthmatic and if I start to push myself I get panicky and I dont enjoy fast running. I try and do an interval session every two weeks to keep the enjoyment as you are right they are fun, but only when its not too much. I love the sound of your adaptions. I prefer to get the Hiit in doing other stuff. Running is my wellbeing activity!
Thanks ju-ju. Life is too short to be schlepping around doing something you don’t enjoy I think. Hopefully I’ve made my nemesis slightly more enjoyable now though. We’ll see! 🤞😀🏃♀️
Excellent. Intelligent way of looking at it. Well done you.
I did intervals up the same bit of towpath for a couple of weeks then took a break. Pain levels are high just now so I'm not running. But are they high because I'm not running? I'm just not a winter runner, but I can't go to Australia every winter! I have done masses of strength training though (digging), so that counts as exercise 😁
Thinking of you a lot recently. It's not an easy time 💐
Aww thanks Baddie. I’m ok, especially now the funeral is over and it went so smoothly. Just need to go and pick up Mum’s wedding ring ..... 💔
I hope you’re ok - could a tiny run give you an answer? Maybe you’re right and it’s not running which is causing your pain? Keeping everything 🤞 for you. 😀
I’m hoping to do JRS regularly now that I’ve tweaked it. Maybe I will get faster one day and enjoy doing it! 😅
Is JRS the same thing as 30/20/10. If so, I feel your pain, I don’t think I have ever got properly through the 3rd 5 minute block, albeit I quite enjoy it.
I like the fact that it’s all over and done pretty quickly. I do a 5 minute warm up then 3 sets of 5x30/20/10 with 2 minutes walk after each set. By the 3rd or 4th 10 seconds in set 3 I usually can’t push the accelerator!
Yes, good news on both counts. 😀 I even raided the rubbish bin in case I’d inadvertently thrown the keys away. Pretty grim. 😳 The successful run made up for it. 🏃♀️🏃♀️
There was one time when we went to Scotland, the last thing i did after loading the car was pick up some bits of paper and chuck them in the bin on the way out the door, Willow did a lot of the driving and i couldn’t find my phone, thought it must be in a bag in the boot ,, no, so thought i must have left it at home, no, never to be seen again, my only thought is that it went in the bin in a handful of rubbish, replacement was expensive and i am more careful now, that was six and a half years ago
Oh crikey! Not surprised you’re super careful now. 😳
I had to go out last night, and I had to use my spare car key. But yes I was mighty relieved to find my bunch of keys this morning. Such a pain having to get them all cut again - and, like you said, expensive. 😩
Glad it worked Cheeky. Just a thought - there is an intervals setting on my Garmin 35 (and therefore presumably on your 235) under run/options/run mode, which when you review your run, shows you your pace on each individual interval. Might be worth a look unless you're wedded to JRS?
Yay you did it cheekychipmunks. I haven’t done JogRunSprint for ages but I have great fun when I do. I think I do 2 sets of 5 JRS with about 3-5 mins in between I think.
Have fun looking at your graph on garmin connect. 🏃♀️💥
Well done cheeky. I must give that a try. I’ve done killer k’s in the past but they are very tough. Running as fast as possible for 1K and recovery 1K and repeat. But they are fantastic for improving pace and parkrun finish times.
Over the past 4 weeks since my brothers wedding I have taken my eye off my healthy eating plan and managed to gain 7 lbs. I have been away a lot with work too. So healthy regime is back and I’ll knock that off again before Christmas in case I do anymore damage. I’m going to keep running and relax until January. But will start back at intervals in the new year.
Kudos to you for making your sprints 1k though Damien. Mine are only for 10 seconds, plenty enough for me! 🏃♀️
It sounds like you’ve had a fun few weeks, but I have every confidence that you’ll lose your 7lbs before too long - then you can enjoy Christmas and do it all over again! 😅😅
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